Piano Lesson–February 27, 2006

The lesson started off with E-flat Major and C minor scales and arpeggios.
I then played the Brahms Rhapsody in G minor by memory. Afterwards, she noticed that I had ‘improvised’ in a couple measures where I had added additional arpeggiac chords (one octave) and my rhythms were a bit in the last passage (right hand triplets become 1,2,1,2 all a sudden).

Dr. N wants me to play the Rhapsody atTh tempo (=132). However, I feel that this is too fast. I think I should play the piece a bit faster than what I’m normally playing, but maybe closer to 123 than 132. I just feel that playing this piece too fast makes for a very agitated audience. I guess people’s interpretation of ‘drowning’ (I tend to view the bass notes acting as the current pulling the upward RH melody notes down) is a tad different. Yes, there is a struggle and the tempi in the piece should suggest that, however, I feel that the main character of the piece feels resigned to her fate early on in the piece and the whole piece is really more reflective/contemplative-melancholic than agitato-desperation. But that’s me. I’ll learn to play it at both tempo. The great Josef Hoffman once noted that his teacher, Anton Rubenstein once remarked that you have to “know how to play a piece differently on a cloudy day than you would a sunny one.”

The last 25 minutes or so was spent on the Chopin Etude. Dr. N is going to sign me up to play for Rebecca Penneys on stage in a semi-packed auditorium 3 Saturdays from now, which is somewhat daunting come to think of it. I need to start practicing this piece at least every other day if I want to do well. Dr. N liked my progress with the piece as it sounds more ‘energetic’ than my previous playings (which were more melancholic–notice a theme here?). I’m able to carry the momemtum of the piece forward instead of feeling restraint from being overly meticulous with hitting the right notes. I’m going to start practicing one hand alone and clean up the notes a bit. Musically, I think it’s getting there (following the melodic contours of the piece and knowing when to poco rit to set up entrance into a new key); however, technically speaking, it’s not as clean as I would like it and that’s where I need to work on.

I have a makeup lesson this coming Thurday at 2pm (will work on the Etude again and bring the Mozart Sonata)